The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Relentless Pinchbeck United can take a giant step towards winning the ChromaSport UCL Division One title this weekend.
Victory over second-placed Potton United at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field (3pm kick-off) will see the Knights move to within one point of being crowned champions – and also securing them promotion to the UCL Premier Division.
The fixture is Pinchbeck’s final home Saturday game of the season and player/boss Ian Dunn had hoped that his side would be in a position to be presented with the trophy.
However, the postponement of Tuesday’s trip to Irchester United (waterlogged pitch) scuppered those plans, leaving all at the club frustrated.
Dunn, who is hoping to win his first UCL title as a boss, wants his side to prove they are the best in the division by seeing off their nearest rivals.
“We’d have obviously liked to get a decent crowd down and lift the trophy in front of our fans,” said the Knights chief. “But that’s gone now.
“We’re not being presumptuous. We’ve done a lot of hard work to get to this position and I’m confident that we’ll complete the job.
“And what better way to prove that we deserve to win the league than beating our nearest rivals? It would be a real statement.
“I don’t think I ever really expected to be talking about the title and promotion this season.
“I’ve seen people going on about our supposed ‘big budget’, but – in all seriousness – we’re not spending a massive amount of money. We’ve only added Andrew Tidswell and Aaron Eyett from a higher standard.
“The rest came up with us from the PDFL or have been signed from other PDFL sides.
“I’d have been happy with top six this year. We might not have been the best team this season, but we’ve been adaptable and found multiple ways to win.”
Pinchbeck won 3-0 at Potton in the reverse fixture back in December, with Dunn feeling the victory was “comfortable” for his charges.
However, they’ve won their last nine matches in all competitions and haven’t been beaten since going down 2-0 at Eynesbury Rovers in the Hinchingbrooke Cup in early February.
Dunn has been impressed by the changes they’ve made since the last meeting and feels Potton deserve to be second in the table.
But, even if Steve Kuhne’s side manage to end the Knights’ 21-game unbeaten run on Saturday, manager Dunn still feels his side will get over the line.
“I don’t think we’ll have a wobble if Potton beat us,” added the striker. “They’re certainly capable, but I’m not expecting any surprises from them.
“They’ve added quality and deserve to be where they are, but so do we. I’m expecting us to win on Saturday, but a draw isn’t the end of the world, either. If we lose, nothing really changes. It’s still in our hands and we’ll have other opportunities to get the job done.”
Should Pinchbeck avoid defeat on Saturday, their first chance to clinch the title and promotion will come at Thrapston Town on Tuesday night (7.45pm).
They then visit rock-bottom Stewarts and Lloyds the following Saturday (3pm), before a home game with Harrowby United (April 25, 7.45pm) and a trip to Lutterworth Town (April 28, 3pm).
The clash at Irchester will also need to be rearranged before the end of the season.
The Knights hope to have a full squad available again after being without Nick Bishop, Tom Sergeant, Liam Ogden, Chris Shipley and Jack Smith last Saturday.
The match will be the first in UCL history to have three female match officials.
